Upholstered seat



June 18,. 1957 K. wlLFERT UPHOLSTERED SEAT Filed May 21, 1952 nited States Patent UPHOLSTERED SEAT Karl Wilfe'rt', Stuttgart-Degerloch, Germany, assigner` to Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft, Stuttgart-Untertrkheim, Germany Application May 21, 1952, Serial No. 289,041

- Claims priority, application Germany May 22,1951` lvClaim. (Cl. 155-180) My invention relates to an upholstered seatv and, more particularly, to the attachment of the cover thereof to its supportngframe. Morev especially, my invention relates toi-upholstered seat-sor couches for'lautomobiles.

yIt is the'pn'mary object Yof my invention', to provide im` proved means for the releasable attachment ci the cover of `an upholstered seat to the supporting trame thereof ywhich are inexpensive, simple to'mannfacture and reliable in operation.

vIt isa more specic object of my invent-ion to. provide means for Vre-leasablyv attaching the cover of an 'automobile seat 'to its' sheet metal 'supporting' frame in a manner which lends itself read-ily to manufacture by modern produ-ction methods.

4Prior to the present invention it was a widely adopted practice to attach the lower margin of the cover of an upholstered `seat to the metal supporting frame by inserting Wooden bars or cords made of paper strip in sheet metal channel members forming part of the supporting frame and to nail the cover thereon. In another mode of attachment the margin of the pliable cover was reinforced by `a pliable inserted cord, wire or cable and by contraction thereof shortening the length of such inserted member, was drawn under tension into outwardly opening channel members of the sheet metal frame being drawn thereinto in a direction transverse to the direction of the compression of the springs of the seat.

yThe attachment by ria-ils, however, is cumbersome, time consuming and does not readily permit of a subsequent detachment of `the cover. While `the `attachment by a contracted cord or the like offers the advantage of easy detachment of the cover for repair or cleaning, experience has shown that a cover so attached is lia-ble to come off accidentally, particularly where the cover consists of leather or a -plastic having a limited pliability thereby resisting the contraction by the cord into the channel member.

It is the object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior attaching means and to aord a seat in which the edge of the cover is reliably attached to the supporting frame of the lseat so that it will not come oi accidentally but m-ay lbe readily taken off, it the cover is lto be repaired or cleaned or to be exchanged.

Further objects of the invention Iwill appear from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof by reference to the drawings; but it is t-o be understood that such detailed description serves the purpose of illustration rather than that of limitation of the invention. in the drawing:

Fig. l is la perspective representation of the seat of a motor vehicle viewed obliquely from the front, the cover sheet being shown partly removed to render the novel attaching means visible.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section 4through the seat shown in Fig. 1, such section being substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Broadly speaking, the upholstered seat shown in Fig. 1 comprises a base, a resilient pad carried thereby and a 2,796,115 Patented June 18, 1957 Fice 2, coverof pliable material `such as cloth or Ia plastic covering the resilient pad` and extending downwardly towards the base being releasably attached thereto by the means to be describedy hereinafter.

(In the presententbodiment the base 4 consists of s-heet metal having a bottom plate 3 and an upturned outer rim 7, the marginal portion 8 cf said rim being bent outwardly Iand downwardly :so as to constitute an inverted U-shaped channel member 9 which, as 4shown in Fig. 1, extends on all sidesaround Ithe base 4 to constitute a continuous side Wall thereof. A plurality ot helical springs 5 are placed -on the bottom plate 3 and suitably attached thereto by suitable means ysuch as clips 6 spot- Welded to plate 3. The cover consisting of cloth, leather or a plastic comprises altop'por-tion 1111 covering a resilient pad (notshown) placed on the springs and side portions 10 extending downwardly in the vicinity of base 4. A strip 13 of a comparatively stiff material such as cardboard or a plastic vis. fixed to the lower margin of theside portions 10 of the cover so as to reinforce such margin. Thewidth of thestrip 13 is a multiple of its thickness so that the strip will readily conform to the circumferential profi-lect` the supporting frame `4 when bent transversely but will electively resist to yany bending couple acting withinitsplane. In the embodiment shown, the marginal zone of Ithe side portion 10 of the cover is once wrapped around the strip 13 and iixedV thereto by an adhesive. As shown in Figs. 1 and` 2, the strip 13 is slipped into the U-shaped channel bar 9 and is held in a substantially vertical position therein bythe tension Aof the springs 5 tautening, the side portions 1t) ofthe cover.

yIn attaching the cover to the seat the operator proceeds as follows: First the cover is so placed upon the cushioned pad carried by the .springs 5 that the side portions 10 are suspended in the manner indicated in Fig. 2. at 10', the springs 5 being relaxed and extended and the lower rim t1=2 :of the cover reinforced by `strip 13 assuming the initial position shown lat :12' by dotted lines. Thereupon the operator appl-ies a Vsuper-normal load to the seat compressing all of the helical springs 5 until rim 12 reinforced by the strip 13 will have been lowered to the position shown at 12". Thereupon the operator turns the strip inside up through 189 until its lower edge 12" will arrive in front of the mouth of the channel -bar 9. Then the 'seat will be relieved from the Kload permitting the springs 5 to raise the pad and i-ts cover causing the upturned strip 12 to enter the inverted channel member 9 until it arrives in the posi-tion indicated in Fig. 2 in full lines. in this position the side portions 10 of the cover are kept taut by the springs 5 and will maintain the strip 13 in the position shown in lwhi-ch it trictionally engages the Walls of the channel 9.

Under a normal Vload imposed on the seat, the side portion 10 of the cover will not be lowered to an extent sucient to permit -the strip 13 to slip out of the channel 9 either under the effect of its lweight -or under the effect of the stiffness of the cover. Should it be desired, however, -to take off the cover K10, 11 in order to repair, clean ror `exchange the same, one needs only to subject the seat to a load higher than normal yso as to compress the springs l5 all at once to an extent exceeding the distance of the upper edge -of strip 11:2 from the lower edge of the flange 8 of the channel member. Thereupon the strip 13 may be easily pulled downwardly out of the channel member 9 and the cover may then be taken oit the seat.

In practical use of the seat it happens sometimes that a powerful local load is imposed on the seat, vfor instance by someone kneeling or stepping on the seat. Such load, however, will not result in an accidental detachment of the cover because the strip 13 is held within the channel member 9 by the effect of those springs 5 as are positioned at the points not aiected by the local load which springs S will keep parts of the side cover portions 10 taut. A local dislocation of the strip 13 from the channel member 9, however, is practically impossible because of the stiffness of the strip resisting a bending of the strip within its plane and because of the tight seat of the strip 13 in the channel member preventing a twisting of the strip 13. t

From the foregoing description it will appear that the frame of the seat preferably constructed as a stamped sheet metal member is provided on its outside with a downwardly opening U-shaped channel member and that the margin of the cover side portions are reinforced by a wide strip of stiff but exible material such strip being upturned inwardly through 180 and slipped upwardly into the inverted channel member being kept therein by the spring force exerted by the cushion springs. The strip imay consist of metal, wood, cardboard, plastic or any other suitable material. It may be attached to the margin of the cover by an adhesive or by sewing or by any other suitable means. The marginal portion of the cover sheet may be wrapped around the strip once or several times. f

Viewed under a broader aspect, my invention is applicable wherever a cover sheet is to be attached to a sheet metal supporting frame, for instance to the back of upholstered seats or to the arm rests thereof.

The pad beneath the cover may be rmly united therewith or may be formed by the helical springs themselves provided that a great number of small springs is provided.

Having now described my invention with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, I Wish it to be clearly understood that the same is in no way restricted to the details of such embodiment, but is capable of numerous modiiications within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In an upholstered seat, the cover of which may be readily installed and removed, the combination comprising a sheet metal base provided with an upwardly extending rim along the entire periphery thereof, said upwardly extending rim being bent back upon itself outwardly to provide a substantially inverted U-shaped channel between said upwardly extending rim and the bent back portion thereof, said U-shaped channel lying on the side of said upwardly extending rim opposite said base, a pad, spring means extending upwardly from said base for supporting said pad, a cover of pliable material extending downwardly on all sides of said base, a strip of stiff material aiiixed to the lower end of the downwardly extending portions of said cover for insertion into said Ueshaped channel from below, said springs, said pad and said cover being so dimensioned as to normally exert tension on said cover, said strip being thereby progressively moved into a more secured position within said inverted U-shaped channel, and said strip being of greater dimension than the bent back portion forming the outer leg of said U-shaped channel so as to prevent contact between the lower edge thereof and said cover.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,020,407 Foster Mar. 19, 1912 1,246,544 Chassaing Nov. 13, 1917 2,612,941 Naughton Oct. 7, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,484 Great Britain 1896 58,448 Netherlands May 15, 1946 512,095 Great Britain Aug. 29, 1939 

